Bitcoin Price Struggles to Break Through Resistance at $9,000

The cryptocurrency market recovery hit a wall on Tuesday, forcing the Bitcoin price back down to $8,500 and all major coins and tokens into decline as well.Source: CoinMarketCap

There was no clear trigger for the pullback, which brought an end to the market’s longest rally since December. Altogether, the cryptocurrency market cap declined by $18 billion, representing a single-day decrease of about four percent.

Bitcoin Price Unable to Break Through Resistance at $9,000

Late last night, the Bitcoin price made another push at $9,000, but — demonstrating the significance of that mark — the rally stalled at $8,999 on Bitfinex, after which BTC began to tumble. The Bitcoin price decline continued throughout Tuesday’s early morning hours, and BTC eventually hit a low of $8,313 before experiencing a minor bump. At present, Bitcoin is priced at $8,500, which translates into a $144.5 billion market cap provides the coin with a 34.9 percent market share.Bitcoin Price Chart

Notably, Wednesday marks the expiration date for CBOE’s February Bitcoin futures contract, so traders should keep an eye on that index as the day progresses.

Ethereum Price Slides Below $830

The Ethereum price matched the index on Tuesday, declining four percent to $828 on Bitfinex. Ethereum now has a market cap of $81.7 billion, which leaves its total market share at 19.8 percent.Ethereum Price Chart

Despite this decline, Ethereum investors should continue to monitor the impending introduction of CryptoKitties into China, which could provide the Ethereum price with a minor bounce if the game proves as popular on the mainland as it is elsewhere.

Altcoin Charts Turn Red

The altcoin markets glowed crimson on Tuesday, as just a dozen of the market’s 100 largest cryptocurrencies managed to mount an advance against the US dollar. Of the few cryptocurrencies that did post a single-day gain, none ranks in the market cap top 10.

The Ripple price posted an eight percent pullback, perhaps indicating that investors are becoming more adept at separating information that is positive for Ripple (the company) from news that is bullish for the firm’s XRP token.

Bitcoin Cash, meanwhile, is currently trading at $1,211 following this morning’s six percent decline.

Cardano, ranked fifth, endured a seven percent retreat and is now valued at $0.34. Cardano’s ADA token now faces a serious challenge from EOS, whose three percent decline allowed it to gain some ground on Cardano in the battle for the fifth-largest market cap. At present, the circulating ADA tokens are valued at $9 billion, leaving Cardano with just a $250 million edge on EOS.

The Litecoin price posted a four percent decline to $154, while eighth-ranked NEO made a five percent pullback to $107.

Stellar and IOTA rounded out the top 10 with respective declines of six percent and eight percent, reducing their prices to $0.36 and $1.76.